Aerated Flow of Powders

Summary

An experimental rig to characterise the flow of a powder when aerated has been designed, built and commissioned. Preliminary results on two powders supplied by IFPRI members have shown interesting results which could be very significant in improving the understanding of the flow of aerated powders. Powders behave as powders at low strain rates, even at high aeration, but become liquid like at aeration rates less than that required for minimum fluidisation when the strain rate is higher. Even a little aeration has a large effect on the magnitude of the transmitted stress.